1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a display case which may be used to display books, compact discs, art work, photographs or other items.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art display cases commonly include only horizontal shelves. There are, however, a number of disadvantages associated with the use of horizontal shelves. For example, when a horizontal shelf is partially filled with books, the books often tip over. Such books may also be damaged due to the effects of their own weight. Accordingly, support devices such as a bookends, which firmly press the books against one another, must be used in conjunction with a partially filled horizontal shelf.
Another problem associated with horizontal shelves is that books are often produced with the title printed on the spine of the book in such a manner that when the book is stored on a shelf,.the title is oriented 90 degrees from a normal horizontal reading orientation. Such an orientation causes problems for persons attempting to read the titles such as eye and neck strain. Moreover, a person who is looking for a particular book in a bookstore may fail to find the desired book altogether. Accordingly, bookstores may lose sales as a result of the reading difficulties associated with the orientation of the titles of books arranged on horizontal shelves.
Other problems associated with prior art display cases are related to the fact that each of the respective shelves has a uniform depth along its entire length. For example, a shelf may be one foot deep along its entire length. The uniform depth makes it difficult to store items whose respective sizes vary. For example, in a bookstore the vast majority of books may fit on a shelf having a depth of one foot. Shelves may be designed accordingly. However, on occasion, books which are substantially larger than the majority may have to be displayed. These larger books are often simply placed on a shelf which is too small to completely support them. As such, a portion of each of these books hangs over the edge of the shelf. This causes damage to the books.
Uniform shelf depth also makes it difficult to prominently display a particular item, such as a piece of art work, a trophy, or a special book. One way to prominently display such an item on a shelf of uniform depth is to leave the shelf space around the item empty. Such a display method, however, wastes valuable shelf space. Moreover, the item which is to be prominently displayed may still not "jump out" at viewers.